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These citizen lawmakers are elected to represent Oregonians and to deal with issues that affect Oregonians.

So we asked our Rapid Responders, “What do you wish that legislators knew about your life and/or your community?”

What they said

That our community is among those afflicted by the twin scourges of hunger and homelessness. Because they are at the base level of the well-known “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,” we citizens should work together with our legislators to fund solutions for these persistent problems. Call your legislator and ask him/her to fast with you for a full day — to feel hunger pangs up close and personally.

— Craig Cline, Salem

I want them to know that we live in a wonderful age, better than ever before, but to remember that not all of us have wonderful lives. We depend on them — and their best efforts and intentions — to lead us into a better tomorrow.

— Erin Cramer, Stayton

The best social program is a good job. Good jobs are earned by hard work and good decisions. First jobs are honorable but are not always good jobs. First jobs should lead to good jobs. Encourage first jobs with low minimum wages.

A high gross receipts tax doesn’t just negatively impact businesses that pay the tax. Other businesses in the supply and purchase chains also feel the impact.

— Richard Pine, Salem

I wish they understood taxing and spending and big government are not the answer to our state’s issues. I wish they would actually come into our neighborhoods and see how hard it is for many of us to get by when they rule and regulate us to death. I wish they truly represented all the people, not just their own particular party or their own personal agenda.

— Cheryl Eby, Salem

Know that I, and many others I know, are not opposed to a sales tax that is directed to provide services that are required in this day and age, in particular infrastructure maintenance. As a “visited” state (hunters, fisherpersons, hikers), a sales tax would recapture the cost for items that they use for free when here. It also makes all Oregonians participants in paying for services.

— Lew Hundley, Salem

I wish they knew and cared about how many people are struggling with basic needs from day to day.

— Tina Blacksmith, Salem

Salem’s average household income is $48,000, the lowest of any big city in Oregon. Legislators’ complaint that Salem doesn’t have some of the amenities (tons of fancy restaurants, numerous performing art centers, regular airline service, etc.) that other cities have is based on what the state (our largest employer) is willing to pay employees.

— Chuck Sides, Salem

You are killing the business community with new rules and regulations.

— Roger Vasend, Salem

Unfashionable though it may be, I would like Oregon legislators to know that I am inspired by the intelligence, temperament, compassion and thoughtfulness of President Obama. I wish our legislators would model their behaviors after him. Having said that, Oregon legislators are pretty good, better than the legislators in the other 10 states I have lived in for at least a year.

— David Haber, Salem

Legislators need to know that I and a majority of Oregonians are open-minded, willing for our state and local agencies to be innovative and try new approaches, and will pay for government programs we believe do fulfill important public needs. Most Oregonians do not want a general sales tax, state-imposed religious tests or interference with end-of-life decisions or women’s reproductive rights.

— Ken Simila, Salem

My main concern: People on fixed incomes are being left behind on just about everything, including the basics of life. Entertainment prices are going up, food prices are going up, basic everyday expenses are increasing and our income is not following.

They say the “cost of living” is not increasing. How can this be true? Every day there are price increases in the basics.

— Kent Wilson, Salem

I’m retired. Like millions of others, we need to modernize transit systems as Baby Boomers stop driving. We need 24/7 commuter bus lines and rail between Eugene and Portland, and to the coast and across the Cascades. We need high speed rail up and down the West Coast and to major cities east. We need to enter the 21st century and provide transit with significantly less or no fossil fuel usage.

— Thomas P. Krise, Salem

I’d prefer they know little about me but more about people like me: those who have raised a family, worked a lifetime and are now retired. Those who are tired of seeing what they have worked for doled out to others. Not those who are ill, or defenseless or handicapped, but those who expect to be taken care of by an inefficient bureaucracy, because they won’t work to take care of themselves.

— Woody Tiernan, Dallas

I wish that the Oregon Legislature’s Democrats understood that they represent all Oregonians and not just the Democrats in our state. The Legislature needs to look back over the years and see how Oregon has continued to go downhill under the control of the Democrats. The restrictive laws that they have passed have run more businesses out of Oregon than they have brought in. Think about it.

— Larry R. George, Salem

I wish that the legislators would step back from their progressive posturing and stop micromanaging the lives of Oregonians. A lot of us have given up trying to convey this message, sighed, ceased participating and now try our best to support organizations that function beyond their control and unshakable belief that big government knows best.

— Hank Weitz, Salem

I wish they knew that as a native who has lived in both the desert and the valley, how much I love this state. I am proud of the measures such as land use planning, urban growth boundaries, public beaches, riparian boundaries, the bottle bill and vote by mail that help preserve this treasure for the future. Please don’t mess it up for a quick buck.

— Anita Blanchard, Salem

I wish they knew that some of us took Economics 101 and therefore we are not all progressive socialists, and that the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.

— Loren Wright, Salem

Wish they knew more about business and economic development and how to spur it and how to bring Oregon into the 21st century. This state is so far behind in understanding how the world works ...

— Greg Machado, Salem

I wished they shared my concern for teenagers and handicapped folks seeking jobs.

For them, JOBS are more important than salary levels. I hope enterprising legislators will gather current employment figures in Oregon for those folks and will track them.

— Fred VanNatta, Salem

Veterans Pension Management Center and Disability Claims Center need to be investigated for delays, lack of oversight and errors constantly, plus lost files. The veterans (5,000 of them in Oregon alone) are accused of overpayments that are caused for the most part by the PMC. This whole system needs accountability from the ground up.

— Ann Watters, Salem

We have homeless people all over the big towns. Feed and house the homeless Oregonians.